Gwinnett County police are investigating the disappearance of a 26-year-old Iraq war veteran. Jason Roark made it home safe after two tours of duty, but has not been seen in two weeks. Now, his family has turned to a private investigator to help find their son.

The Texas search team, Equusearch has been enlisted to find Roark and it is the same search team that was used to find missing teenager, Natalie Holloway. Several of its members were in Gwinnett County Saturday, trying to retrace Roark’s last steps in hopes of bringing the young man home.

Roark’s mother, Terry hopes that after 17 agonizing days, the Roark family may finally get some answers. "It’s my only child, and he’s been missing for 17 days and I have no whereabouts whatsoever," said Terry Roark.

Surveillance video obtained by Equusearch showed Roark checking into the Gwinnett Inn [in Snellville, Ga.,] at 4:30 a.m. on November 9. That morning, Jason was seen several times walking in the parking lot and driving his black Honda Accord. Surveillance video showed Roark leaving the motel for the last time at 11:04 a.m.

Apparently, the last person to have seen Roark has allegedly given some information to the police which does not jibe with what surveillance cameras picked up on the scene.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, Terry Roark said she needed answers, even if that answer is devastating. "He served this country, now its time to help him," said Terry Roark.

[Nick Berntson, a college friend of Roark’s and the last person to have seen him alive] is currently being held in the Gwinnett County jail on a probation violation. Equusearch was looking for Jason’s car, a black Honda Accord with a white Florida Gator decal in the back window and Georgia plates with the number ASL-0280.

Anyone with information is asked to call Equusearch’s toll free number at 877-270-9500.

Roark left the Army in October 2005 and had been treated for depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome after returning from Iraq, said his mother, Terry Roark of Dallas, Ga. Roark had started a job as an assistant manager at Texas Roadhouse restaurant in Snellville three months ago, she said.

Terry Roark said she believes her son did not simply disappear on his own. "It's like he was just in a 'poof'," she said. "No sightings, no traces of him anywhere. He has no money, no credit cards, and was last seen in blue jeans and a T-shirt. No coat."

Roark was stationed at Ft. Bragg and served with a Special Operations Forces pyschological unit.

In interviews, his mother has said that his PTSD does not seem to figure into the disappearance. I do hope that they find him, soon.

(Thursday 11/09/06) The Gwinnett County Police Department is currently investigating the disappearance of 26-year-old Jason Michael Roark of Snellville.

Roark was last seen by his friend. The two had been drinking together at a local bar in Lilburn. After drinking, the two rented a room at a nearby hotel. The witness told authorities that the last time he saw Roark was when Roark left the hotel at approximately 7AM that Thursday.

Roark was last seen in his ’00 Black Honda Accord bearing Georgia Tag ASL0280. At this stage of the investigation foul play is not suspected, however it has not been ruled out. Anyone with information concerning Jason Michael Roark is asked to call the Gwinnett County Police Department at 770-513-5300.

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Considerable Quotes

"The first shamans earned their keep in primitave societies by providing explanations and rituals that enabled man to deal with his environment and his personal anguish. Early man, no less than we, dealt with forces that he could not understand or control, and he attempted to come to grips with his vulnerablity by trying to bring order to his universe." -- Richard Gabriel in No More Heroes

"War stories end when the battle is over or when the soldier comes home. In real life, there are no moments amid smoldering hilltops for tranquil introspection. When the war is over, you pick up your gear, walk down the hill and back into the world." -- OIF vet John Crawford in The Last True Story I'll Ever Tell

"After wars' end, soldiers once again become civilians and return to their families to try to pick up where they left off. It is this process of readjustment that has more often than not been ignored by society. -- Major Robert H. Stretch, Ph.D in Textbook of Military Medicine: Vol. 6 Combat Stress

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